Storage area networks (SANs) are networks designed to link host computers to storage devices. Fibre Channel (FC) is a standard protocol adopted for use in many SANs. In FC terms, a group of one or more switches interconnecting the hosts to the storage devices is called a “fabric”. A fabric is a collection of switches that allow the hosts and storage devices to cooperate with each other within the SAN. These storage devices may include, but are not limited to: JBODs (Just a Bunch of Disks); Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) arrays; tape backups; tape libraries; CD-ROM libraries; and other related devices. The current configuration of FC fabrics is limited by a number of constraints associated with current addressing protocols used in FC, and is further limited by the behavior induced when different types of FC control traffic is propagated throughout the fabric. This limits the size, performance, and overall efficiency of fabrics.